Longtime Bassmaster Opens competitor Vernon Kemp has been glued to “Bassmaster Live” this morning. Kemp lives in nearby Umatilla and has years of experience on the Harris Chain. In fact, two of his best performances in Opens came here, a 14th-place finish in 2019 and 38th in 2017.
“The big (spawning) wave is yet to come,” Kemp said. “I think they’re going to pull up Saturday. I think as this tournament goes on you’re going to see a slugfest.”
As for the anglers who have locked through to Lake Apopka, he said, “Apopka is a strange critter. We call them mile-or-mores. You’ll catch a good one there and you’ll have to go another mile or more to catch another.”
But when the big spawning wave moves up, an angler can be near 40 pounds in one reed patch in Apopka, Kemp noted.